The Department of Homeland Security is stepping up pressure on tech companies to identify the owners of social media accounts critical of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). According to The New York Times.
This mirrors other recent reporting. Bloomberg is pointing to five cases In which Homeland Security Demands to identify owners of unknown Instagram accountsThe department withdrew its summons after the owners filed a lawsuit. and a Washington Post story Described the growing use of administrative subpoenas by Homeland Security to target Americans – which do not require a judge’s approval.
Now the NYT says a practice that was previously rarely used has become increasingly common in recent months, with the department sending hundreds of such subpoenas to Google, Reddit, Discord and Meta. The subpoena reportedly focused on accounts that did not have a real name attached and were either critical of ICE or described the location of ICE agents.
Google, Meta and Reddit have reportedly complied in at least some cases. Reiterating previous comments, Google said that it informs users about these subpoenas whenever possible, and that it reverts them when the subpoenas become “overly broad.”
